DOCSLIB.ORG

Face the Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples • 2014

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Face the Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples • 2014 Face the facts: ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES • 2014 The Australian Human Rights Commission encourages the dissemination and exchange of information provided in this publication. All material presented in this publication is provided under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia, with the exception of: • the Australian Human Rights Commission Logo • photographs and images • any content or material provided by third parties. The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website, as is the full legal code for the CC BY 3.0 AU licence. Attribution Material obtained from this publication is to be attributed to the Australian Human Rights Commission with the following copyright notice: © Australian Human Rights Commission 2014. Face the Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples • 2014 ISBN 978-1-921449-67-3 Design and layout Dancingirl Designs Infographic Design Firefly Interactive Content James Iliffe, Black and White Media Australia Electronic format This publication can be found in electronic format on the website of the Australian Human Rights Commission: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications Contact details For further information about the Australian Human Rights Commission, please visit www.humanrights.gov.au or email [email protected]. You can also write to: Communications Team Australian Human Rights Commission GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts Face the Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples • 2014 • 1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have a unique • In 2011, more than one in three Aboriginal and Torres place in Australia as the original inhabitants of the land. Strait Islander people were under 15 years (36 per cent), compared with one-fifth of non-Indigenous Across the country, many individuals and communities Australians. Almost four per cent of Aboriginal and maintain strong connections to their culture, language and Torres Strait Islander people were aged 65 years and traditional lands, while also contributing to the environmental over, compared with 14 per cent of non-Indigenous management, economic development and cultural identity of Australians.5 our nation. • In 2011, 11 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples hold distinctive Islander people spoke an Indigenous language at rights as Australia’s First Peoples, set out in international law. home.6 And in 2009, Australia gave its formal support to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a ground-breaking document that seeks to reset relationships between indigenous peoples and governments around the Key issues for Aboriginal globe. However, despite some improvements in recent years, and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be one of the most vulnerable groups in Australia. Peoples • In 2010-12, the average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was approximately About ten years (10.6 years for men and 9.5 years for women) less than that of non-Indigenous Australians.7 Leading causes of death included heart disease, • In 2011, almost 670 000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait 8 Islander people were living in Australia;1 around three diabetes, respiratory disease and cancer. per cent of the Australian population. By 2031, it is • Just over half (52.2 per cent) of Aboriginal and Torres estimated that this number will exceed one million, Strait Islander people aged between 15 and 64 years with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were not employed in 2012-2013, compared with comprising 3.9 per cent of the population.2 24.4 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians.9 • One third (34.8 per cent) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait • One in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Islander people live in major cities;3 43.8 per cent live women experienced physical violence in the previous in regional areas; 7.7 per cent live in remote areas; and 12 months, compared to seven per cent of non- 13.7 per cent live in very remote areas.4 Indigenous women. Over the same period, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (12 per cent) were three times more likely to experience sexual violence than non-Indigenous women (four per cent).10 2 • In 2008, half of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over had some form of Did you know? disability.11 In non-remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were one-and-a-half times more The Aboriginal rock art in Western Australia’s Dampier likely than non-Indigenous adults to have a disability Archipelago is at least twice as old as the Pyramids of or a long-term health condition.12 Egypt.22 • Around one in twelve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are part of the Stolen Generations. In 2008, eight per cent (26,900) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over stated Find out more that they had been removed from their natural family. Thirty five per cent assessed their health as fair or • Australian Human Rights Commission, poor and 39 per cent experienced high or very high Social Justice Reports levels of psychological distress.13 • Australian Human Rights Commission, • The national imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Native Title Reports Torres Strait Islander adults is 15 times higher than • Australian Human Rights Commission; Bringing that for non-Indigenous adults.14 In the December Them Home: Report of the National Inquiry into quarter of 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprised 27 per cent of Australia’s full-time Children from Their Families (1997) adult prison population.15 • Close the Gap: Campaign for Indigenous Health • There were approximately 250 Australian Indigenous Equality (2006 – current) languages spoken at the time of colonisation. However, a 2005 survey found that only 145 • Australian Human Rights Commission, Close the Gap: Indigenous languages are still spoken to some degree Progress and Priorities Report 2014 (2014) and less than 20 are considered to be “strong” and • Productivity Commission, Overcoming Indigenous able to be spoken by all generations.16 Disadvantage: Key Indicator Reports • United Nations, Declaration on the Rights of Positive developments Indigenous Peoples • Between 2005-07 and 2010-12, life expectancy for Our role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men increased by 1.6 years and by 0.6 years for women. Over the same The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice period, the life expectancy gap between Aboriginal Commissioner keeps the human rights issues facing and Torres Strait Islander people and the rest of the Australia’s First Peoples before the Australian Parliament by Australian population reduced by 0.8 years for men preparing an annual Social Justice Report and Native Title 17 and 0.1 years for women. Report. He also promotes community understanding of and • In 2011, 53.9 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait respect for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Islander people aged between 20 and 24 years had Peoples. attained a Year 12 or equivalent qualification, up from 18 The Commission’s role includes reviewing the impact of laws, 47.4 per cent in 2006. Higher levels of educational policies and programs on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander attainment are associated with better health 19 people, as well as providing policy advice and research on a outcomes. range of pressing human rights issues. • Between 2002 and 2012, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking rates dropped from 51 per cent to The Commission also hosts the Close the Gap: Campaign 41 per cent.20 for Indigenous Health Equality. • The 2011 Census results show that health services Find out more about our work in this area. currently employ 14.6 per cent of employed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Health services are the single biggest “industry” source of employment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, expanding by almost 4,000 places since 2006.21 Face the Facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples • 2014 • 3 Endnotes 1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3238.0.55.001-Estimates of Aboriginal 12 Australian Bureau of Statistics, above. and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011 (August 2013). 13 Australian Bureau of Statistics, note 11. 2 Australian National University, CAEPR Indigenous Population Project, 14 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4512.0-Corrective Services, Australia, 2011 Census Papers – Paper 14, Population Projections (2011). December quarter 2013 (March 2014). 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics, note 1. 15 Australian Bureau of Statistics, above. 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics, note 1. 16 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1301.0-Year Book Australia, 2009–10 5 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2075.0-Census of Population and (June 2010). Housing: Counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011 17 Australian Bureau of Statistics, note 7. (June 2012). 18 Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australian Government, 6 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2076.0-Census of Population and note 9. Housing: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011 (November 2012). 19 Australian Bureau of Statistics, note 11. 7 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 3302.0.55.003-Life Tables for Aboriginal 20 Australian Bureau
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mediating the Imaginary and the Space of Encounter in the Papuan Gulf Dario Di Rosa
    7 Mediating the imaginary and the space of encounter in the Papuan Gulf Dario Di Rosa Writing about the 1935 Hides–O’Malley expedition in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, the anthropologist Edward Schieffelin noted that Europeans ‘had a well-prepared category – “natives” – in which to place those people they met for the first time, a category of social subordination that served to dissipate their depth of otherness’.1 However, this category was often nuanced by Indigenous representations of neighbouring communities, producing significant effects in shaping Europeans’ understanding of their encounters. Analysing the narrative produced by Joseph Beete Jukes,2 naturalist on Francis Price Blackwood’s voyage of 1842–1846 on HMS Fly, I demonstrate the crucial role played by Torres Strait Islanders as mediators from afar of European encounters with Papuans along the coast of the Gulf of 1 Schieffelin and Crittenden 1991: 5. 2 Jukes 1847. As Beer (1996) shows, the viewing position of on-board scientists during geographical explorations was a particular one, led by their interests (see, from a different perspective, Fabian (2000) on the relevance of ‘natural history’ as episteme of accounts of explorations). This is a reminder of the high degree of social stratification within the ‘European’ micro-social community of the ship’s crew, a social hierarchy that shaped the texts available to the historians. Although he does not treat the problem of social stratification as such, see Thomas 1994 for a well-argued discussion about the different projects that guided various colonial actors. See also Dening 1992 for vivid case of power relations in the micro-social cosmos of a ship.
    [Show full text]
  • Torresstrait Islander Peoples' Connectiontosea Country
    it Islander P es Stra eoples’ C Torr onnec tion to Sea Country Formation and history of Intersection of the Torres Strait the Torres Strait Islands and the Great Barrier Reef The Torres Strait lies north of the tip of Cape York, Torres Strait Islanders have a wealth of knowledge of the marine landscape, and the animals which inhabit it. forming the northern most part of Queensland. Different marine life, such as turtles and dugong, were hunted throughout the Torres Strait in the shallow waters. Eighteen islands, together with two remote mainland They harvest fish from fish traps built on the fringing reefs, and inhabitants of these islands also embark on long towns, Bamaga and Seisia, make up the main Torres sea voyages to the eastern Cape York Peninsula. Although the Torres Strait is located outside the boundary of the Strait Islander communities, and Torres Strait Islanders Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, it is here north-east of Murray Island, where the Great Barrier Reef begins. also live throughout mainland Australia. Food from the sea is still a valuable part of the economy, culture and diet of Torres Strait Islander people who have The Torres Strait Islands were formed when the land among the highest consumption of seafood in the world. Today, technology has changed, but the cultural use of bridge between Australia and Papua New Guinea the Great Barrier Reef by Torres Strait Islanders remains. Oral and visual traditional histories link the past and the was flooded by rising seas about 8000 years ago. present and help maintain a living culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Navigating Boundaries: the Asian Diaspora in Torres Strait
    CHAPTER TWO Tidal Flows An overview of Torres Strait Islander-Asian contact Anna Shnukal and Guy Ramsay Torres Strait Islanders The Torres Strait Islanders, Australia’s second Indigenous minority, come from the islands of the sea passage between Queensland and New Guinea. Estimated to number at most 4,000 people before contact, but reduced by half by disease and depredation by the late-1870s, they now number more than 40,000. Traditional stories recount their arrival in waves of chain migration from various islands and coastal villages of southern New Guinea, possibly as a consequence of environmental change.1 The Islanders were not traditionally unified, but recognised five major ethno-linguistic groups or ‘nations’, each specialising in the activities best suited to its environment: the Miriam Le of the fertile, volcanic islands of the east; the Kulkalgal of the sandy coral cays of the centre; the Saibailgal of the low mud-flat islands close to the New Guinea coast; the Maluilgal of the grassy, hilly islands of the centre west; and the Kaurareg of the low west, who for centuries had intermarried with Cape York Aboriginal people. They spoke dialects of two traditional but unrelated languages: in the east, Papuan Meriam Mir; in the west and centre, Australian Kala Lagaw Ya (formerly called Mabuiag); and they used a sophisticated sign language to communicate with other language speakers. Outliers of a broad Melanesian culture area, they lived in small-scale, acephalous, clan-based communities and traded, waged war and intermarried with their neighbours and the peoples of the adjacent northern and southern mainlands.
    [Show full text]
  • Torres Strait Regional Economic Investment Strategy, 2015-2018 Phase 1: Regional Business Development Strategy
    Page 1 Torres Strait Regional Economic Investment Strategy, 2015-2018 Phase 1: Regional Business Development Strategy A Framework for Facilitating Commercially-viable Business Opportunities in the Torres Strait September 2015 Page 2 This report has been prepared on behalf of the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA). It has been prepared by: SC Lennon & Associates Pty Ltd ACN 109 471 936 ABN 74 716 136 132 PO Box 45 The Gap Queensland 4061 p: (07) 3312 2375 m: 0410 550 272 e: [email protected] w: www.sashalennon.com.au and Workplace Edge Pty Ltd PO Box 437 Clayfield Queensland 4011 p (07) 3831 7767 m 0408 456 632 e: [email protected] w: www.workplaceedge.com.au Disclaimer This report was prepared by SC Lennon & Associates Pty Ltd and Workplace Edge Pty Ltd on behalf of the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA). It has been prepared on the understanding that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use and interpretation. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith. SC Lennon & Associates Pty Ltd, Workplace Edge Pty Ltd and the authors of this report are not liable to any person or entity taking or not taking action in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to above. Photo image sources: © SC Lennon & Associates Pty Ltd Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A New Approach to Enterprise Assistance in the Torres Strait i A Plan of Action i Recognising the Torres Strait Region’s Unique Challenges ii
    [Show full text]
  • Torres Strait Islanders: a New Deal
    The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS: A NEW DEAL A REPORT ON GREATER AUTONOMY FOR TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Affairs August 1997 Canberra Commonwealth of Australia 1997 ISBN This document was produced from camera-ready copy prepared by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and printed by AGPS Canberra. The cover was produced in the AGPS design studios. The graphic on the cover was developed from a photograph taken on Yorke/Masig Island during the Committee's visit in October 1996. CONTENTS FOREWORD ix TERMS OF REFERENCE xii MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE xiii GLOSSARY xiv SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS xv CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE.......................................................................................................................................1 CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY ......................................................................................................................................1 SCOPE OF THE REPORT.............................................................................................................................................2 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS .................................................................................................................................3 Commonwealth-State Cooperation ....................................................................................................................3
    [Show full text]
  • SC2.10 Masig (Yorke) Island Maps
    Schedule 2: Mapping SC2.10 Masig (Yorke) Island maps Torres Strait Island Regional Council Planning Scheme Page 675 This page is intentionally left blank. Torres Strait Island Regional Council Planning Scheme Page 676 Zenadth Kes Planning Scheme: Planning Scheme for The Torres Strait Island Regional Council Area Saibai Island Ugar LEGEND Island KUKI EXISTING FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Airstrip IBIS Store Barge Ramp Sacred Site Cemetery School Child Care Facility Sewerage Infrastructure Erub Church Island Sports Field Community Hall TSIRC Buildings Defence Patrol Depot Telecommunications Electricity Infrastructure Infrastructure Waste Facility ¸Å Fire Station MARUS Water Supply Infrastructure UMI Health Centre EBRINZAR BOUNDARIES AND FEATURES SAU Direction to the nearest Islands BANIUGUB WAK Road Coming of the Light AUPSIRIAM (monument) KOBIN LGA MUR Kuki (NW Winds - January to April) Japanese Burrial Ground Sager (SE Winds - May to December) PATTERN OF LAND USE IDID Lawrences Rd DOPE Township Environmental Management and Conservation Masig 2 Rd Steven Jeff Rd NATURAL ENVIRONMENT KUBUR Lowattas Rd Turtle Barge Ramp Rd Williams Rd FUTURE FACILITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES MUKUNKUP Dans Rd Aous Rd Township Expansion JDL "Road Town Centre Core " Possible Location for Park and Community Charlies Rd Garden Airstrip Rd Masig" 1 Rd DURI Masig 5 Rd Data Sources: GUDAMADU Unless stated below all landuse, road, or natural feature data shown is from the Strategic Landuse Plan (SLUP) by the RPS Group 2010. Community Consultation 2013: Local Names, Places and identified facilities DARDAR Queensland Dept. Natural Resources and Environment: Imagery, KOD LGA Boundaries, Terrain data and Flooding layers KEKUR AECOM: all strategic framework, zoning and local area plan data is Masig 6 Rd modified from the SLUP and DNRM source data.
    [Show full text]
  • Report: the Torres Strait: Bridge and Border
    Chapter 6 Law and order 6.1 There are over 59,000 people movements across the border in the Torres Strait per year.1 Although more than 90 per cent involve a day trip from PNG, this large influx of people raises law and order issues in the region. In this chapter, the committee considers the presence and behaviour of PNG citizens in the communities of the Torres Strait, the potential for social tensions and concerns about the safety of persons and property. Movements across the border 6.2 One of the main responsibilities of law enforcement agencies in the Torres Strait is to ensure that the movement of traditional visitors across the border takes place in a safe, orderly and lawful manner. Article 11 of the Torres Strait Treaty provides for freedom of movement for traditional inhabitants engaged in legal traditional activities in the Protected Zone.2 This means that traditional inhabitants are not required to have the usual travel documents such as a passport or visa.3 The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs) explained: These [treaty] provisions, and the geographical proximity to PNG, have led to the adoption of entry arrangements for traditional visitors that are tailored to the unique circumstances of the Treaty zone and recognise the important role that local Island Councils play.4 6.3 A visitor pass system has been established to authorise traditional movements. Traditional inhabitants travelling between PNG and the Torres Strait Islands are required to obtain a pass from their own community as well as prior agreement from the community to be visited.5 A traditional inhabitant wishing to travel applies for a pass from their Island Councillor on Torres Strait Islands or village leader in their treaty village in PNG.
    [Show full text]
  • 2.6 Oceania 145 2.6 OCEANIA
    Regional Overview 2.6 Oceania 145 2.6 OCEANIA AUSTRALIA FIJI KIRIBATI MARSHALL ISLANDS MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF NAURU NEW ZEALAND PALAU PAPUA NEW GUINEA SAMOA SOLOMON ISLANDS TIMOR LESTE TONGA TUVALU VANUATU 146 Global State of Harm Reduction 2020 TABLE 2.6.1: Epidemiology of HIV and viral hepatitis, and harm reduction responses in Oceania Country/ People who HIV Hepatitis C Hepatitis B Harm reduction response territory with inject drugs prevalence (anti-HCV) (anti-HBsAg) reported among prevalence prevalence injecting drug people who among among 1 Peer use inject drugs people who people who 2 3 4 (%) inject drugs inject drugs NSP OAT distribution DCRs (%) (%) of naloxone (2,940)7 Australia 75,1785[2] 2.3[3] 45[4] 4.0[5] (4,182)6[2] [7,8] 2 (B,M)[6] Federated States nk nk nk nk x x x x of Micronesia Fiji nk nk nk nk x x x x Kiribati nk nk nk nk x x x x Marshall Islands nk nk nk nk x x x x New Zealand 18,0008[10] 0.2[10] 589[10] nk (185)10[11] (B,M)[11,12] 11[9] x Palau nk nk nk nk x x x x Papua New nk nk nk nk x x x x Guinea Samoa nk nk nk nk x x x x Solomon Islands nk nk nk nk x x x x Timor Leste nk nk nk nk x x x x Tonga nk nk nk nk x x x x Vanuatu nk nk nk nk x x x x nk = not known 1 Countries with reported injecting drug use according to Larney et al 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • Appropriate Terminology, Indigenous Australian Peoples
    General Information Folio 5: Appropriate Terminology, Indigenous Australian Peoples Information adapted from ‘Using the right words: appropriate as ‘peoples’, ‘nations’ or ‘language groups’. The nations of terminology for Indigenous Australian studies’ 1996 in Teaching Indigenous Australia were, and are, as separate as the nations the Teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies for Primary Pre-Service of Europe or Africa. Teacher Education. School of Teacher Education, University of New South Wales. The Aboriginal English words ‘blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’ are used by Indigenous Australian people all over the country — All staff and students of the University rely heavily on language some communities also use ‘yellafella’ and ‘coloured’. Although to exchange information and to communicate ideas. However, less appropriate, people should respect the acceptance and use language is also a vehicle for the expression of discrimination of these terms, and consult the local Indigenous community or and prejudice as our cultural values and attitudes are reflected Yunggorendi for further advice. in the structures and meanings of the language we use. This means that language cannot be regarded as a neutral or unproblematic medium, and can cause or reflect discrimination due to its intricate links with society and culture. This guide clarifies appropriate language use for the history, society, naming, culture and classifications of Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander people/s. Indigenous Australian peoples are people of Aboriginal and Torres
    [Show full text]
  • Water Stories from Torres Strait: Dauan and Saibai Islands
    Water stories from Torres Strait: Dauan and Saibai Islands by Teena Akiba, Torres Strait Island Regional Council Let me tell you some water stories about growing up on Dauan Island. Dauan Island, in the north western island group of Torres Strait, is much known for its rocky hillsides, large boulders and tropical flora and fauna. Throughout the island there are many caves, some of which still remain undiscovered. Some, however, are well-known for their freshwater springs that form wells to supply water for the families. In total, there are 21 named natural wells on Dauan: Manarr, Dhobani, Dhaniw erad, Woesa- kuik, Dhogai-pudhaisinga, Meri-Mila, Akana-mai, Kupa kuik, Valley, Sazil-mudh, Wasana- pudhayzinga, Kuku, Kaladagam, Sapu, Mari-nguki, Arum-kodh, Awgadhaw-nguki, Kuyaman Klakau Pagayzinga, Maiwan, Gaile, Ama Kuduloena mai. As children we would scour the hills without carrying any water with us because we could always find a drink from a nearby well. We would clear the dead leaves and other material away from the well and wait for the water to settle. Then we would break leaves from nearby trees or use lily pads, shape them into a cone and scoop the water up to quench our thirst; then continue on our barefooted quests. Some of the wells are filled with water all year round while others may look dry but are surrounded by lush plant growth and are home to many animals. When holes are dug in these dry wells, they fill with water which, when settled, form clear filtered bodies of water. As a child growing up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I recollect waking early in the mornings to help our grandparents, uncles or aunts follow the hoses that went for kilometres from the well to the shower shed.
    [Show full text]
  • Identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australian General Practice
    Identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian general practice www.racgp.org.au/aboriginalhealth Healthy Profession. Healthy Australia. 1 Identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian general practice Preamble The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is committed to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, most significantly demonstrated by the establishment of the RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health in February 2010. In its position statement on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health,1 the RACGP commented on the significant numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients being treated by mainstream practices, but the relatively small number of preventive healschedth assessments conducted for these patients. The College observed a need for improvements in the rates of identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients by general practices. The need for improved identification has intensified as the result of two national initiatives. In April 2010 the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) published a report, National Best Practice Guidelines for Collecting Indigenous Status in Health Data Sets.2 This report recommended the use of a standard national question: ‘Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?’ to identify, record and report the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of patients of health services. The AIHW data collection guidelines were adopted by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in order to report progress against performance indicators to close the gap in health outcomes. Research evidence shows that where general practices take systematic action to improve their identification processes, there is a corresponding increase in the numbers of correctly identified patients.
    [Show full text]
  • Case Study 1 Climate Change and the Human Rights of Torres Strait Islanders
    Case study 1 Climate change and the human rights of Torres Strait Islanders Imagine the sea rising around you as your country literally disappears beneath your feet, where the food you grow and the water you drink is being destroyed by salt, and your last chance is to seek refuge in other lands…1 This is a reality that a group of Indigenous Australians – the Torres Strait Islanders – are facing. If urgent action is not taken, the region and its Indigenous peoples face an uncertain future, and possibly a human rights crisis. The Torres Strait Islands are a group of over 100 islands spread over 48,000km2, between the Cape York Peninsula at the tip of Queensland, and the coast of Papua New Guinea. It is a unique region, geographically and physically, and it is home to a strong, diverse Indigenous population. Approximately 7,105 Torres Strait Islanders live in the Torres Strait region, in 19 communities across 16 of the islands.2 Each community is a distinct peoples – with unique histories, traditions, laws and customs. Although the communities are diverse, the islands are often grouped by location,3 and together they form a strong region whose considerable influence is evidenced by the very existence of native title law today. The Torres Strait is home to the group of Islanders from Mer who first won recognition of native title, with Eddie (Koiki) Mabo triggering the land rights case which recognised Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders’ native title to the land and affirmed that Australia was not terra nullius 1 Avaaz, ‘Avaaz petition’, Email to the Australian Human Rights Commission, 3 September 2008.
    [Show full text]